Adjustable loop cutter for mining machines



y 3, 1956 J. F. JOY

ADJUSTABLE LOOP CUTTER FOR MINING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed March '7, 1951 ATTOR/VEK m w M w JOSEPH F JOK IIIOIIIO y 3, 1956 J. F. JOY 2,753,169

ADJUSTABLE LOOP CUTTER FOR MINING MACHINES Original Filed March 7, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 94 a /6 /4 Av w AQw/ in: 7 S

ATTORNEY July 3, 1956 JOY 2,753,169

ADJUSTABLE LOOP CUTTER FOR MINING MACHINES Original Filed March 7, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNE).

July 3, 1956 J. F. JOY 2,753,169

ADJUSTABLE LOOP CUTTER FOR MINING MACHINES Original Filed March 7, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 nit 2,753,169 Patented July 3, 1956 ADJUSTABLE LQUP CUTTER FOR MINING MACHINES Joseph F. Joy, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Joy Manufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Original application March 7, 1951, Serial No. 214,242. and this application May 25, 1953, Serial No.

Claims. (Cl. 2622-30) This invention relates to mining machines and more particularly to an adjustable loop cutter for cutting out cores of mineral from a solid mine vein and adjustable at will to accommodate itself to mine veins of varying heights.

In the mining of coal or similar minerals from a solid coal seam or mine vein it is desirable that the cutter means be adjustable in height so that it may be accommodated to coal seams or mine veins of varying heights, and in known types of adjustable loop cutters it was necessary partially to dismantle parts of the cutter, or to interchange certain cutter parts and manually to adjust others, so that operation of the mining machine was discontinued in order to enable cutter adjustment. The present invention contemplates improvements over such known types of adjustable loop cutters in that the loop cutter chain may be adjusted in height at the will of the operator and automatically maintained under the desired tension without the need for interchange or dismantling of parts, or of certain manual adjustments, so that the mining machine may continue to operate during cutter adjustment thereby to improve efiiciency and the speed of the mining operation.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved mining machine. Another object is to provide an improved endless loop type cutting means which is ad justable in height thereby to enable operation of the machine in mines having veins of varying heights. Yet another object is to provide an improved adjusting means and automatic chain tensioning means for an adjustable loop cutter chain. These and other objects and advantages of the invention will, however, hereinafter more fully appear.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 214,242, filed March 7, 1951, now matured into Patent No. 2,730,346, granted January 10, 1956.

in the accompanying drawings there is shown for pun poses of illustration one form which the invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view of a mining machine in which an illustrative embodiment of the improved adjustable loop cutter is incorporated.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing details of the adjustable loop cutter frame.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the planes of line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the planes of line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a cross section taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 4, showing the loop cutter chain and its associated core breaker.

The mining machine, as shown in the drawings, generally comprises an elongated frame or body 1 slidable on its bottom 2 over the floor of a mine, and projecting laterally from the frame is a loop-shaped guide frame or guide bar 3 about which an endless loop type chain 4- is guided for orbital circulation. Motors 6 and 7 carried by the machine frame near its opposite ends serve to drive the cutter chain through suitable gearing contained in a housing 8 as fully disclosed in the copending application above referred to. The feeding means for the machine comprises feed sprockets 9 driven by the motors in the manner also disclosed in the above mentioned application and arranged to engage a feed chain 16) which is guided with respect to the feed sprockets by idler sprockets 11. The feed chain has flexible portions which extend in opposite directions longitudinally from the machine frame in parallelism with the coal face and are anchored at the remote extremities by suitable roof jacks, and as the sprockets are driven the machine travels bodily along the feed chain, in a well known manner. A conventional face conveyor 12 is laid on the mine floor in parallelism with the coal face at the outer side of the machine frame, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

in this improved construction the loop-shaped guide frame or guide bar for the cutter chain is, as shown in Fig. 2, adjustable in height and consists of a generally U-shaped outer frame structure 13 comprised of cooperating frame sections 14 and 15 having top and bottom leg portions 16 and 17 and outer upright portions 18 and 19, the latter providing the connection between the leg portions of the U. The upright frame portion 19 has a vertical guideway 20 which slidingly receives a portion 21 secured to the upper frame portion 18 whereby the upper frame portion may be adjusted in a vertical direction relative to the bottom frame portion. The lower frame portion 17 is suitably rigidly secured at 22 to the machine frame and the upper adjustable portion is secured at 23 to sliding blocks 24 (Figs. 2 and 3) guided for vertical adjustment along vertical guides 25 secured to the machine frame. A vertical plate 2d at the inner side of the machine frame extends longitudinally through the open centre 27 of the chain guide frame or bar, and pivotally mounted at 28 on lugs integral with the inner side of the plateis an upright hydraulic cylinder 29 containing a reciprocable piston 30 having its piston rod 31 extend ing upwardly through the packed upper head 32 of the cylinder. This hydraulic cylinder is arranged within a rectangular recess 33 formed vertically within the machine frame, as shown in Fig. 4, and the piston rod is secured at its upper end at 34 to a frame 35 integral with the sliding blocks 24 and to which the upper frame portion 16 of the chain guide frame is secured. Thus, when liquid under pressure is supplied to the lower end of the cylinder beneath the piston the latter may be moved upwardly to vary the elevation of the upper frame portion 16 relative to the lower frame portion 17 thereby to vary the cutting height of the machine to enable operation thereof in coal scams or mine veins of varying height.

As shown in Fig. 4, the U-shaped chain guide frame or guide bar 3 has a guideway 36 at its forward side, and in which the cutter chain 4 is guided for orbital circulation. The chain passes around a drive sprocket 37 and in order to maintain the chain under the proper tension in all positions of adjustment of the chain guide frame there are provided suitable guide rollers 38, 39 and 40 about which the chain passes, as shown in Fig. 5. The guide roller 39, as shown in Fig. 4, is journaled at 41 on bearings supported by a longitudinally extending horizontal shaft 42 supported by one of the sliding blocks 24, and the guide rollers 38 and 4t) are journaled at 43 on bearings supported by shafts 44 arranged in parallelism with the shaft 42 and respectively supported by the upper and lower frame portions 16 and 17 of the loop-shaped chain guide frame. By such an arrangement of the guide rollers with respect to the drive sprocket, the cutter chain is automatically maintained under the proper tension irrespective of the adjusted height of the guide frame. The endless cutter chain 4 is arranged to circulate within a chamber 45 formed within the machine frame at one side of a vertical plate 46 which forms a portion of the machine frame to which the vertical guides 25 are secured. The inner longitudinally extending vertical plate 26 is formed with a suitable opening 47 (Fig. through which the endless cutter chain passes. The machine frame is recessed at 48 at its outer lower side in such manner as to provide a space for the face conveyor 12 and the outer sides and bottoms of the chamber 45 open at 49 and 50 respectively towards the face conveyor 12 so that any loose coal or other material conveyed outwardly by the cutter chain may discharge onto the face conveyor. To direct the loose coal or other material over the side of the face conveyor near to the machine frame, as shown in Fig. 5, the lower portion of the machine frame is upwardly inclined at 51 and the conveyor frame has a side frame 52 which has an inclined portion 53 which underlies the frame portion 51. Thus, the loose coal or other material may be moved upwardly and outwardly along the inclined portion 53 for discharge onto the endless conveyor 12.

As shown in Fig. 1, conventional hydraulic hand pumps 55 operated by hand levers 56, are arranged at the opposite ends of the machine frame for supplying liquid under pressure to the hydraulic cylinder 29 for changing the height of the chain guide frame or guide bar 3 on which the cutter chain is guided. Liquid trapped in this cylinder serves to lock the guide frame in adjusted position. Evidently, the pumps may be motor driven, if desired.

Now referring to the detail structure of the endless chain 4 and its associated breaker device, it will be noted that each chain comprises a series of chain blocks 57 pivotally connected by strap links 58. Each block comprises an outer side link portion 59 and formed integral with these outer link portions are lateral lugs 60 for receiving cutter bits .61. The socketed block lugs are arranged in relatively inclined positions on the different chain blocks, as shown in Fig. 4, so as to provide proper lacing of the cutter bits to enable cutting of a kerf of sufficient width to receive the guide frame or guide bar 3. The core breaker device associated with the cutter chain comprises a breaker plate 62 which is pivotally mounted on a screw 63 secured to one of the outer link portions 59. A screw 64 secured to the outer link portion passes through an arcuate slot 65 in the breaker plate, and this screw 64 When tightened serves to hold the breaker plate firmly in adjusted position on the chain block. Projecting laterally inwardly of the breaker plate is a cam-shaped breaker portion 66 which is engageable with the core of coal formed by the loop cutter chain at periodic intervals to effect breaking down or dislodging of the core.

The general mode of operation of the improved adjustable loop cutter is as follows: The cutter may be sumped into the end of the coal face at the left hand roadway in accordance with conventional longwall practice and as the machine is fed along the coal face the loop cutter chain 4 cuts out a projection or core of coal or other mineral and the breaker plate 62 on the cutter chain periodically applies a breaking down pressure to the projection or core as mining progresses. As the core of coal or other mineral is dislodged in fragments from the coal face, it is conveyed laterally from the face through the bottom of the machine to discharge onto the face conveyor 12. Thus as the machine moves along the coal face it mines out the coal, and the machine moves from the face at the right hand roadway to complete the cut. As the machine is operated along the coal face the operator may effect a supply of liquid under pressure to the hydraulic cylinder 29 or :may vent liquid from the cylinder to change the height .of the guide frame-orguide bar so as to accommodate the loop cutter chain to coal seams or mine veins of-varying heights, and liquid trapped in the jack cylinder serves to lock the guide frame or bar in adjusted position. Thus as the machine travels along the face of the mine vein the effective height of the loop cutter may be varied as desired without interrupting operation of the machine.

As a result of this invention an improved mining machine of the adjustable loop cutter type is provided having improved adjusting means for the loop cutter for varying the operating height of the cutter to suit varying mining conditions. By the provision of the improved adjustable loop cutter the height of the cut may be varied at the will of the operator while the machine continuously operates. The novel cutter frame structure and the associated power elevating means are not only readily operable and effective but are also relatively simple, compact and rugged in design. Other modes of use and advantages of the invention will be clearly apparent to those skilled in the art.

While there is in this application specifically described one form which the invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this form of the same is shown for purposes of illustration and that the invention may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, an endless loop cutter chain movable in an orbit, an adjustable guide frame for said cutter chain and adjustable to vary the shape of the orbit of said chain while the guided relation of said chain with said guide frame remains undisturbed and without dismantling said chain or said guide frame, said guide frame having an opening within the chain orbit for receiving a core of mineral cut by said cutter chain, means for adjusting said guide frame including a power operated element movable along a rectilinear path, means for maintaining said cutter chain under the proper tension irrespective of the adjusted position of said frame comprising a chain guiding element movable along a rectilinear path parallel with and in close adjacency to said first mentioned rectilinear path, said parallel rectilinear paths disposed within the lateral limits of the horizontal projection of the chain orbit and disposed laterally of said frame opening, and guiding means for an adjustable part of said guide frame and including a guide frame member movable along a rectilinear path parallel with and in close adjacency to said path of said power operated element, and said chain guiding element being mounted on said guide frame member for movement therewith, said path of said guiding element also disposed laterally of said frame opening.

2. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said guide frame member carries an additional guide member for said chain, said chain guide members being in the form of rotary guides journaled on said guide frame member to rotate about parallel spaced apart axes.

3. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said guide frame is adjustable in a vertical direction to vary the operating height of said loop cutter chain orbit and said paths of rectilinear movement of said power operated element and said guide frame member are vertically disposed.

4. In combination, an endless loop cutter chain movable in an orbit, an adjustable guide frame for said cutfor chain and having a part adjustable to vary the shape of the orbit of said chain while the guided relation of said chain with said guide frame remains undisturbed and without dismantling said chain or said guide frame, means for adjusting said guide frame including a power operated element movable along a rectilinear path, guiding means for said adjustable part of said guide frame and including a guide frame member movable along a path parallel with said path of said power operated element,

said :power opera-ted element having its connection with said guide frame arranged within the horizontal projection of the chain orbit in the direction of such path and lying inside of said movable guide frame member, and means for maintaining said cutter chain under the proper tension irrespective of the adjusted position of said frame comprising a chain guiding element mounted on said guide frame member for movement therewith along a rectilinear path parallel with said paths.

5. In combination, an endless loop cutter chain movable in an orbit, an adjustable guide frame for said outter chain and having a part adjustable to vary the shape of said chain while the guided relation of said chain with said guide frame remains undisturbed and without dismantling said chain or said guide frame, means for adjusting said guide frame including a power operated element movable along a rectilinear path, guiding means for said adjustable part of said guide frame and including a guide frame member movable along a path parallel with said path of said power operated element, said power operated element having its connection with said guide frame arranged within the horizontal projection of the chain orbit in the direction of such path and lying inside of said movable guide frame member, and means for maintaining said cutter chain under the proper tension irrespective of the adjusted position of said frame comprising a rotary chain guide mounted on. said guide frame member for movement therewith along a rectilinear path parallel with said paths, a second rotary chain guide carried by said guide frame member for guiding said chain, said rotary guides being journaled on said guide frame member to rotate about parallel spaced-apart axes, and a third rotary chain guide journaled on a relatively stationary portion of said frame, the axes of said second and third mentioned rotary guides lying in a common vertical plane disposed in parallelism with said rectilinear paths substantially midway between said two first mentioned parallel paths.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,903,772 Bowman Apr. 18, 1933 2,189,670 Lewis Feb. 6, 1940 2,261,162 Joy Nov. 4, 1941 2,276,730 Lewis Mar. 17, 1942 2,287,230 Cartlidge June 23, 1942 2,551,510 Sproul May 1, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 570,671 Germany Feb. 23, 1933 

